I94 at Niagara border
- Thread starter bavarian
- Start date
hi bavarian
i am in h1b too.I am planning to land on end of jan by road.Are you planning to take your own car or rental car?
From the other people i came to know that you shouldn't submit i-94 while entering canada as you coming back within 30 days and you are using automation validation visa.please keep in touch.
do you know when you are landing??
soop
i am in h1b too.I am planning to land on end of jan by road.Are you planning to take your own car or rental car?
From the other people i came to know that you shouldn't submit i-94 while entering canada as you coming back within 30 days and you are using automation validation visa.please keep in touch.
do you know when you are landing??
soop
You should never submit I-94 while crossing US border into Canada. You'll be in huge trouble while coming back. I don't know which bridge will you take to go to Niagara falls. I went to Canada through Detroit Ambassador bridge in August this year and there was no one at the bridge to ask for anything while going to Canada. I am on H1B too. While coming back though - at US border - I was asked many questions by the border security officer and then I was sent to their Border Security Office (which was 50 meters away from border) for further questioning. After checking my passport, I-94 and H1B approval notice (I don't have visa stamped on my passport) they let me go in about an hour.
Not sure if you know or not but there is a program called AVR (Automatic Visa Revalidation). Per this program, if you leave US to go to Canada or Mexico and come back with in 30 days you don't have to surrender your I-94. The important thing to keep in mind though is that while in Canada, you are not supposed to leave Canada within those 30 days to go to any other country. If you do that you'll break AVR rules and you will be subject to further questioning and could potentially be denied entry into US. Since you are planning to come back on the same day, you should be fine.
I would recommend that you take all your documents (educational, experience letters, tax return, etc) to be on safer side. I did that too but I was never asked to present anything except my passport, I797A (which is H1B notice with I-94 attached) and my US license.
Also don't take alcohol or fire arms with you. Border agents don't like such stuff.
More info on AVR:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1441.html
If you are interested in reading further about my experience of going to Canada to complete my landing, feel free to read it here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/landed-successfully-used-avr-l1-expired-current-status-h1-t116894.0.html#new
I hope it helps.
Cheers..
Not sure if you know or not but there is a program called AVR (Automatic Visa Revalidation). Per this program, if you leave US to go to Canada or Mexico and come back with in 30 days you don't have to surrender your I-94. The important thing to keep in mind though is that while in Canada, you are not supposed to leave Canada within those 30 days to go to any other country. If you do that you'll break AVR rules and you will be subject to further questioning and could potentially be denied entry into US. Since you are planning to come back on the same day, you should be fine.
I would recommend that you take all your documents (educational, experience letters, tax return, etc) to be on safer side. I did that too but I was never asked to present anything except my passport, I797A (which is H1B notice with I-94 attached) and my US license.
Also don't take alcohol or fire arms with you. Border agents don't like such stuff.
More info on AVR:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1441.html
If you are interested in reading further about my experience of going to Canada to complete my landing, feel free to read it here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/landed-successfully-used-avr-l1-expired-current-status-h1-t116894.0.html#new
I hope it helps.
Cheers..
No, you shouldn't have to. If somebody asks you to surrender, tell them that you'll use AVR to return back to US and will need I-94. Don't worry too much about it. A lot of people have done it in the past.
No disrespect intended but if you are too concerned about it then why don't you go and visit Niagara Falls from US side. I have been there. Once you sit in Maid of the Mist, the view is no different from US side. I had a lot of fun.
No disrespect intended but if you are too concerned about it then why don't you go and visit Niagara Falls from US side. I have been there. Once you sit in Maid of the Mist, the view is no different from US side. I had a lot of fun.
I have crossed by land on F1 and more recently on B2 without surrendering my I-94. On F1 (and H1B), the expiration of the I-94 is duration of status (D/S), and if you intend to return within 30 days, you do not need to surrender it. As to the B2, I read that you could ask the CBSA officer in Canada to take it, if not, you are responsible to mail it back to the address noted in the back of the card to complete your exit record. I subsequently flew back to the US on the same B2 and I-94 for a wedding and at the YYZ pre-clear POE, the CBP officer didn't ask anything, but he did not issue a new I-94 stamp either. I surrendered it to the airline when I returned to Canada after the wedding.
Long story short, if you are going to Canada and returning the same day, keep the I-94. You won't run into trouble and you won't have to go into secondary either when entering the US. I did that many times on F1 while attending a cross border program (attending both US and Canadian universities at the same time).
Long story short, if you are going to Canada and returning the same day, keep the I-94. You won't run into trouble and you won't have to go into secondary either when entering the US. I did that many times on F1 while attending a cross border program (attending both US and Canadian universities at the same time).